Combined fire extinguishing and indicating apparatus.



y J. w. LAwHoN. COMBINED PIRE EXTINGUISHING AND INDICATING APPARATUS.

` APPLIOTION FILED SEPT. 15, 1909.

@JWM` UNITED sTATEs PATENT ormoni.

JOHN W. LAWHONOF TRUNDLES CROSS `ROADS, TENNESSEE.

COMBINED Finn EXTINGUISHING AND INDICATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Patented May 21, `19.12.

Application le'd September 15, 1909. Serial No. 517,912.

automatically extinguishing fires in build-v ings, and at the same time, indicating'the room or rooms in which the fire is located.

One of the objects of the inventionis to provide means of this character, including a tank having valves therein, one valve being provided for each room in which the apparatus is located, there also being a separate pipe for conducting water from the tank to each of the rooms.

Another objectis to provide mechanical means designed to bel released when subjected to the action of fire, for the purpose of permitting the escape ofwater from the tank and into the pipe'v entering the room wherein the lire yis located. c

A further object is to provide an indicator which is held normally in a predetermined position by a strand of material located within a room and each strand, when severed, releases the indicator and enables it to operate automatically to indicate the location of the fire.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out'in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention Vhas been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portion of the structure having the present improvements applied thereto, the connections between the indicator and the balance of the apparatus being indicated diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of' a portion'of a structure and showing the arrangement of the discharge pipe and the controlling strand within a room. Fig. 3 is a vertical ysection through the indicator. Fig. 4l is a detail view of a portion of the structure.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates a room` within a structure, there being a storage tank 1 supported in any-preferred manner upon the compartment. A discharge pipe 2 extends Y from the bottom of the tank and opens into a spraying pipe 3. This last-mentioned pipe is supported upon the walls of the compartment and preferably adjacent the ceiling, said pipe being formed with a plurality of minute discharge openings 4, through which jets of water arey designed to be projected into the compartment A. The spraying pipe may be made up of sections of any preferred length and diameter and can be connected together either by means of threads or byl telescoping the ends thereof, as indicated at in Fig. 1. The openings lare so located as to discharge jetsof water in all directions from the pipe.

The outlet of the tank 1 is designed to be closed by a valve 6, having a rod 7 connected to it and extending upwardly to one end of the lever 8. This lever is fulcrumed at an intermediate point and a spring 9 bears upwardly against one end thereof, so as to hold the valve 6 normally unseated. That end of the lever farthest removed from the valve rod 7 has a cord 10 attached to it, said cord being guided over a sh'eave 11 mounted above the lever. This cord is e'xtended downward into the compartment A and thence alongthe walls ofthe compartment through guide eyes 12 provided therefor. The cord can be arranged in any manner preferred and, as indicated in F igjQ, is preferably extended along the upper portions of the walls and thence downward toward the floor, after which it is extended longitudinally of the walls and thence downward to an indicator located at some point removed from the compartment. It is' to be understood that this cord fits loosely within its supporting eyesc12 and is therefore capable'of being shifted longitudinally.

The indicator used in connection with the apparatus may consist of a casing 13 having a slide 14 mounted to reciprocate therein, there being a spring 15 mounted thereon and tending t-o'hold one end of the slide normally projected beyond the casing. This end of the slide has a head 16 arranged thereon and provided .with'a numeral or other data sutlicient to designate the room or compartment to which the lslide 1st is connected. .The cord 10 is attached to one end of the slide 14 and is designed to hold the spring 15 under stress andthe head 16 retracted within the casing 13. \A spring 17, located in compartment A, bears constantly on the cord 10 and operates to hold the same constantly taut, it being understood that this spring is more powerful than the spring 15. If desired, and as illustrated in Fig. 1, the spring 15 may be augmented by another spring 18 bearing against a projection 19 carriedA by the slide.

A bail is hung within the casing 18 as indicated at 20, this bail normally lying within the path of the projection 19. A bell 21 is mounted within or upon the casing and the clapper 22- thereof is provided with spring-controlled mechanism 23 which, when wound, will automatically operate the clapper for a predetermined period. An arm 24 extends from the clapper shaft 22a and moves with the clapper and is loosely engaged by a loop 25 attached to the bail 20. The bail, loop and arm are so proportioned that when said bail is in its normal posit-ion, loop 25 will hold the arm 24 against movement in one direction and the clapper 22 and its actuating' mechanism will thus also be held in fixed relation.

Should a fire occur within the compartment A the cord 10 will soon become severed at one or more points and immediately thereafter spring 9 will shift the lever S so as to open valve G and cause the contents of the tank to flo-w into the spraying pipe 3, thus resulting in the discharge of numerous jets in all directions within the compartment. While this operation is taking place thel slide 14, having been released, will be shifted longitudinally by the spring or springs connected thereto and the head 16 will therefore be projected beyond the casing and will indicate the compartment in which the fire is located. During the movement of the slide the projection 19 will strike bail 2O and shift it out of normal position, thus moving the loop 25 to such an extent as to permitthe arm 24 and the clapper 22 to oscillate under the action of the spring-controlled mechanism 23. The bell 21 will therefore be sounded and an alarm thus given.

In the drawings only one compartment, and the mechanism associated therewith, has been shown, but it is to be understood that each compartment in the building may be provided with a separate mechanism such as described. Only one tank need be utilized however, although it will be provided with separate outlet-s, one for each compartment,

Should it be desired to shut off the flow of water, a chain 26, or the like, attached to the lever 8 could be pulled so as to force the lever against the stress of spring 9 and thus reseat the valve 6. Said chain 26 could then be fastened until the controlling cord 10 has been replaced and the apparatus thus reset for further use.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made in the arrangement and construction of the parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

W'hat is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the class described a casing, a slide mounted to reciprocate therein, a normally taut element adapted to be parted when subjected to the action of heat for holding the slide normally in al predetermined position, a spring for shifting the slide to project one end portion thereof beyond the casing when said element is parted, a bail hung within `the casing, a sounding element, a clapper, means for actuating the clapper, an arm movable with the clapper, a loop connected to the bail and engaging the arm, said bail normally holding the loop in position to restrain the arm and clapper, and a projection on the slide and movable against the bail to shift the bail and loop and release the arm and clapper.

2. In apparatus of the class described a casing, slides normally housed within the casing, normally taut elements adapted to be parted when subjected to the action of heat, said elements constituting means for holding the slides in normal position, springs mounted on and bearing against the slides to automatically proj ect diem beyond the casingwhen the elements connected thereto are parted, a bail hung within the casing, a bell, a clapper, spring actuated means for operating the clapper, an arm movable with the clapper, a

loop pivotally connected to and movable with the bail, said loop loosely and detachably engaging the arm to hold the clapper out of contact with the bell and to hold the clapper actuating mechanism against movement, and a projection on each slide, any one of the project-ions being movable against the bail when its normally taut element is parted, to shift said bail and release the clapper arm.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN 1V. LANI-ION. Witnesses:

H. C. BLAIR, MoD. BnowN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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